Tales of the Eternal Alliance: When I was a Little Girl
by SWTORpadawan
Summary: Along every hero's journey, there are people we meet briefly, with no expectation we'll ever see them again. But sometimes, just sometimes, we do.


**_Author's Notes:_** _The following story takes place between Chapters 9 and 16 of Knights of the Fallen Empire_

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When I was a little girl, they said that Jedi sometimes appear to children who were truly in need.

Well, I don't know if that was true for others, but it turned out to be true for me.

My name is Renalda Agareth, and I grew up on Coruscant, in what used to be called Justicar territory. The Justicars took over the sector around the time my parents were killed during the gang fighting. They told people that they were protecting everyone from the Black Sun and other gangs, but really, they were just as bad. My brother Braedon was the only one left to take care of me, but when I was nine, they kidnapped him. They said they thought he was older than 15, and they were trying to forcibly recruit him into their gang. Looking back now, I don't think they really cared. By then, they were 'indenturing' or killing every male in our sector old enough to hold a blaster.

I remember sulking by myself in the old park. There weren't a lot of opportunities for fun left in the old sector, and I was just trying to keep my mind off my problems. I knew I couldn't really make it on my own, and I would never give up on my brother. But the Justicars had an army, and I was too little to fight. I knew the Republic couldn't help me. I didn't know what I was going to do.

Then a young man and woman appeared, wearing long robes. When some Justicars tried to attack them, they ignited their lightsabers and tore through them. It was then that I realized that they were Jedi. They were amazing to watch, especially the man.

When they were done with the Justicars, I ran up to them and begged for their help. I told them what had happened to my brother and asked them to save him. I know they were busy with something else – something big, maybe affecting the whole planet – but even with all that going on, they still promised to find Braedon for me.

They kept their promise. A few hours later, my brother was home, safe and sound. I remember I told the two Jedi that they were my best friends in the whole world after my brother. They just smiled, bowed, and wished us luck.

I knew I might not see either of them again. But I was still grateful I'd met them.

A little while after that the Justicars' whole organization started to collapse from within. Some said they had lost too many of their leaders. I even heard that their supply of weapons from off-planet had been cutoff. I was pretty sure my new 'friends' had been responsible for both problems. Whatever happened, the Justicars who were still around stopped even pretending to be keepers of the peace, and just started stealing from anyone who had anything left. Soon, the other gangs started moving in again. It was all my brother and I could do to stay safe.

We were lucky. A few months later, we got out of there. Braedon was now old enough to enlist with the Coruscant Security Force, and later with the Republic army. He made just enough to get us a little place. I took up slicing. First just for fun, later as a job. I got good. Real good. Agent Shan says I could have worked for the SIS.

Growing up gives you some perspective. When I was little, the Justicars and the other gangs seemed like the worst people in the whole Galaxy. Later, I learned all about the Sith Empire, and how the sacking of Coruscant allowed all of those bad things happen in the first place. Later still, the Eternal Empire attacked, and blockaded Coruscant. The whole planet was on rations before the Senate finally gave up. It hurt. It felt like the whole planet was being shaken down, just like the Justicars had done to our neighborhood when I was little.

We couldn't let it continue like that. When my brother and I heard about an Alliance being formed against the Eternal Empire, we had to check it out. And when we found out the Alliance was commanded by the same Jedi who helped my brother and I, we knew we had to join. It was tough on Braedon. He was technically defecting from the Republic Army. But it was the right thing for us to do.

I arrived on Odessen as a 19-year old slicer with my brother, a former Republic soldier. I was a little scared of the Sith and Imperials at first, but everyone was united under the Commander. Everyone wanted to stop the Eternal Empire.

It had been ten years since I had met the Commander. I had to admit, I was nervous. (I grew up with kind of a crush on him, even though I hadn't seen him since then.) I thought he wouldn't remember me, but he did. He didn't recognize me at first, but he remembered. The Commander smiled and asked me about my brother and I told him that Braedon and I were both joining the Alliance, Braedon as a soldier for Admiral Aygo, and me as a slicer for Agent Shan. He was impressed and grateful that we had remembered him after all these years and welcomed us to Odessen.

I asked him about the young woman who was with him on Coruscant years ago. Her name was Kira, and she'd been his Padawan. She'd been really nice to me. When the Commander had agreed to help me, Kira winked at me and told me "Us redheads have to stick together, right?" Even though I was scared for my brother, it made me laugh. But when I asked the Commander about Kira on Odessen, his eyes became sad. He told me he didn't know where she was, that she had gone missing when he'd been away, and he hadn't been able to find her yet.

I hope he finds her. I think he misses her a lot more than he lets on. I think maybe the reason he's helping so many people is because helping people – like he once helped me – the only thing keeping his mind off missing her.

(I didn't tell him that I still thought of him as my second-best friend in the whole world.)

When I was a little girl, they said that Jedi sometimes appear to children who were truly in need.

I may never become a Jedi, but maybe someday, I'll be there for some other child who was in need like I was.

Because when I was a little girl, someone did that for me.

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 ** _Author's Notes:_** _Sometimes, when I go through the game, I wonder "Whatever happened to such-and-such NPC?" I mean post-KOTFE? Renalda Agareth was certainly one of the more memorable characters from the main Republic storyline for me – little girl begging for help and all. I may include other supporting characters in future works in a similar manner._

 _Also - reviews left are always appreciated! If you post your reviews from an account, i can respond to your messages directly! Totally up to you._


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